Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Pakistani Man, Faisal Shahzad Arrested in Times Square Bomb Plot

A Pakistani man believed to be the driver of an SUV used as a car bomb in a failed terror attack on Times Square was taken into custody early Tuesday by federal and local police officials while trying to leave the country.

The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding an Emirates airlines flight to Dubai, Attorney General Eric Holder said. Shahzad had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife.

He was being held in New York and couldn’t be contacted. He has a Shelton, Conn., address; a phone number listed there wasn’t in service.

Law enforcement officials say Shahzad bought the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, from a Connecticut man about three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.

While the exact movements of Faisal are not yet known, US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal believe he spent time in al Qaeda or Taliban training camps in North Waziristan.

Information gathered from the upload of the videotape of Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban master trainer of suicide bombers, may have pointed to Faisal, as the video was uploaded from Connecticut, according to ABC News. On the video, Qari Hussain lauded the bombing, which he characterized as successful, and said further attacks against the US would follow.

The YouTube website that hosted the video was created by a group calling itself the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel. The website was created one day before the failed attack, and the video was also uploaded one day before the attack, The Long War Journal first reported on May 2.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal on May 2 believed the YouTube site was created specifically to announce the Times Square attack. Officials also said Qari Hussain’s statement was pre-recorded well before the failed Times Square attack.